Dialogue Editing

Glossary 337
BWF (broadcast wave format) An improvement on the wave (.wav) soundfi le
format. In addition to audio information, a BWF fi le can carry shot descriptions,
technical logs, and timecode.
Change notes Information provided by the picture department to describe changes
made to the fi lm after picture lock. The audio tracks must be conformed to
match these changes. Change notes can be handwritten or automatically generated
by the picture workstation.
Changeover On a multireel fi lm, the switch from one projector to the other during
a reel change. Nowadays, few fi lms are projected on two projectors, but rather
are spliced into one continuous string and stored on a horizontal platter. Nonetheless,
due to the displacement between the projector gate and the sound head,
care must be taken when preparing print masters. Approximately the fi rst 20
frames of a subsequent reel must be copied to the tail of each reel. This extension
is called a pullup or a “changeover tail.”
Channel mapping An audio-routing matrix used when performing an autoassembly
(PostConform or autoconform). The audio channel relationship between
an event’s description in the EDL, the source material, and the target channel
can be set while preparing for an auto-assembly. This is particularly valuable
when loading sounds from a 2-channel medium into a multichannel session.
Clean edit list Required for auto-assemblies, an EDL free of illegal events, unnecessary
information, non-Latin fonts, and legacies from previous edits. Today,
this is rarely an issue, since nonlinear picture editing machines automatically
generate a clean list.
CMX Initially the result of a partnership between CBS and Memorex, it was the
pioneer in machine controllers for online editing. The CMX3600 edit decision
list, which describes and stores editing information, is still the standard means
of communicating event information between picture and sound departments.
See EDL.
Color timing The adjustment of a fi lm’s colors and brightness in the lab, which
usually occurs while the sound department is editing. Also called “grading.”
Comment A line or lines of information beneath the event line on a CMX edit
decision list that can be used to insert scene/take data into the region names in
the dialogue editor’s session.
Conformation Any change made to a reel after picture lock. Sometimes unavoidable
yet loathed by the sound department.
Coverage The manner of shooting a scene to provide suffi cient material to work
with. A scene that lacks the takes/angles needed to piece together a decent
assembly is wanting of coverage.
Crossfade A transition in which one sound element fades out as another fades
in. In dialogue editing, a crossfade should usually be “level neutral” so that
there is neither an increase nor a decrease in level over the course of the
transition.